Digital Apprenticeship Service Business Briefing

Employers are invited to find out more about a new online system that is being introduced this month as part of the government’s apprenticeship reforms.

Andrew Hartley, Business Development Director, The Sheffield College

The new Digital Apprenticeship Service is the main topic of a breakfast briefing being organised by The Sheffield College and Sheffield Chamber of Commerce next week.

Some places are still available for the event, from 8.00am until 9.45am on Tuesday February 14th, at The Sheffield College’s Silver Plate Restaurant on Granville Road. To book your free place, click here.

Andrew Hartley, Business Development Director, The Sheffield College, said: “The government’s imminent apprenticeship reforms will affect all sized businesses, particularly large employers with a pay bill of more than £3 million a year.”

He added: “We are urging employers to ensure they are well prepared and to find out how the new system will work. They will also hear about the benefits of apprenticeships, which include increasing technical skills in the workplace and boosting business growth.”

The briefing event will update employers on the apprenticeship levy, being introduced by the government this April, and how they can prepare for it. The apprenticeship levy will be managed through a new online portal, the Digital Apprenticeship Service, being launched by the Skills Funding Agency this month.

Employers will be able to see how much funding they have in their apprenticeship levy account and use it to select their training provider. At the briefing event, employers will also get an update on the latest guidance and rules on how they can use the apprenticeship levy.

The way that the government funds apprenticeships is changing and the reforms will affect all employers from April 2017. An apprenticeship levy is being introduced for all public and private sector employers with a pay bill of more than £3 million a year. The future funding of apprenticeships will also change for non-levy payers including small to medium sized businesses.

The Sheffield College – which has a £321 million economic impact on the city annually - works with 850 employers to deliver apprenticeship programmes in a wide range of industry sectors for more than 2,000 apprentices. To find out how your business could benefit from apprenticeships, visit http://www.sheffcol.ac.uk/employers or call 0114 2602600.